1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus which forms an image corresponding to print data that is generated by a computer or the like and formed from an image object.
2. Description of the Related Art
One approach to increase the document generation productivity is to increase the operating speed of hardware of an image forming apparatus such as a printer. However, no dramatic increase in the operating speed of a semiconductor integrated circuit which is the core of hardware is expected in the future. Instead, expectations are growing for a parallel processing technique of parallel-performing data processes of the same type by a plurality of hardware devices. For example, there is proposed a technique of analyzing print job data in a printing apparatus and parallel-executing image rendering instructions divided by a job sequence generation means by a plurality of rendering means (see patent reference 1). There is also a technique of processing an image by an image processing device out of rendering data of an input text, graphics, and image to generate bitmap data, and processing the text and graphic by the CPU to generate bitmap data (see patent reference 2).    [Patent Reference 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-011593    [Patent Reference 2] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-293913 (paragraphs 0039 to 0042)
However, according to the prior arts, processes such as data conversion are so scheduled as to shorten the process time of one page. Scheduling is not always optimal for each print job having a plurality of pages, and there is room for improvement to shorten the process time of each print job.
As image forming apparatuses are shared more and more with the spread of network printers and the like, a plurality of print jobs are successively processed more and more. In this case, processes in the image forming apparatus must be so scheduled as to shorten the process time of all print jobs.